Chatham Baroque to present HBPA concert in Hesston

HESSTON, KAN. – Chatham Baroque, a renowned Pennsylvania trio that performs music from the Baroque on authentic instruments of the period, will appear on the Hesston Mennonite Church stage as part of the Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts Series.

The concert begins at 3 p.m., Sunday, April 18. Prices for single tickets for Chatham Baroque’s appearance range from $14 to $17 depending on seating section, with discounts available to students and senior citizens.

Chatham Baroque continues to excite audiences with their dazzling technique and artful interpretations. The Chicago Tribune recently called the trio “a splendid period-instruments ensemble” while the Washington Post described them as “musically impeccable.” The virtuosic baroque violin pyrotechnics, the rich, fluid lines of the viola da gamba and the alluring sounds of the theorbo and baroque guitar mesmerize and inspire audiences from coast to coast.

Founded in 1991, Chatham Baroque has taken its internationally renowned concert and education programs to Montreal, Toronto, Mexico City and the British Virgin Islands, as well as dozens of U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The ensemble has been heard on CBC Radio-Canada, Harmonia, Sunday Baroque and American Public Media’s Performance Today.

When off the road, the three Pittsburgh-based musicians present a successful local concert series with multiple performances in different venues four times a year. With the addition of a single guest or guest artists for many of these programs, the ensemble researches and delves into new musical territory beyond the 17th and 18th century repertory composed for the core ensemble members’ instruments – baroque violin, viola da gamba and theorbo or baroque guitar.

Chatham Baroque has released seven best-selling CDs on Dorian Records to critical acclaim. Both The Scotch Humour and Henry Purcell: Sonatas and Theatre Music received five-star ratings from Europe’s Goldberg magazine. Recorded in Pittsburgh in April 2009, the ensemble’s CD of vocal and instrumental music by the 17th-century Italian composer and lutenist, Giovanni Girolamo Kapsperger, will be released in 2010.

The final HBPA concert of the season will feature the Lawrence Children’s Choir under the direction of Janeal Krehbiel, Sunday, June 6, at Hesston Mennonite Church. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 620-327-8158 (Hesston College) or 316-284-5205 (Bethel College) or e-mail hbpa@hesston.edu. Purchase tickets online at www.hesston.edu/hbpa.

This program is presented in part by the Kansas Arts Commission, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, which believes a great nation deserves great art, and is supported by Mid-America Arts Alliance with generous underwriting by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Kansas Arts Commission and foundations, corporations and individuals throughout Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas.

The Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts series started in 1982 as Hesston Performing Arts (HPA) with funding and planning provided by Hesston College and the Hesston community. In 1998, HPA planners launched a partnership with Bethel College, North Newton, and the series name changed to Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts. Hesston College and Bethel College host five performances by world-renowned or regionally acclaimed artists each year.

Back to News HESSTON, KAN. – Chatham Baroque, a renowned Pennsylvania trio that performs music from the Baroque on authentic instruments of the period, will appear on the Hesston Mennonite Church stage as part of the Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts Series. The …